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The World Heritage Convention

The most significant feature of the 1972 World Heritage Convention is that it links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two.

Strategic Objectives the "Five Cs"

What the Convention contains

The Convention defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

The Convention sets out the duties of States Partiesin identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites situated on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage. The States Parties are encouraged to integrate the protection of the cultural and natural heritage into regional planning programmes, set up staff and services at their sites, undertake scientific and technical conservation research and adopt measures which give this heritage a function in the day-to-day life of the community.

It explains how the World Heritage Fundis to be used and managed and under what conditions international financial assistance may be provided.

The Convention stipulates the obligation of States Parties to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage properties. These reports are crucial to the work of the Committee as they enable it to assess the conditions of the sites, decide on specific programme needs and resolve recurrent problems.

It also encourages States Parties to strengthen the appreciation of the public for World Heritage properties and to enhance their protection through educational and information programmes.

Preserving cultural heritage

The event that aroused particular international concern was the decision to build the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, which would have flooded the valley containing the Abu Simbel temples, a treasure of ancient Egyptian civilization. In 1959, after an appeal from the governments of Egypt and Sudan, UNESCO launched an international safeguarding campaign. Archaeological research in the areas to be flooded was accelerated. Above all, the Abu Simbel and Philae temples were dismantled, moved to dry ground and reassembled.

Consequently, UNESCO initiated, with the help of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the preparation of a draft convention on the protection of cultural heritage.

Linking the protection of cultural and natural heritage

The idea of combining conservation of cultural sites with those of nature comes from the United States of America. A White House Conference in Washington, D.C., in 1965 called for a ‘World Heritage Trust’ that would stimulate international cooperation to protect ‘the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry’. In 1968, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed similar proposals for its members. These proposals were presented to the 1972 United Nations conference on Human Environment in Stockholm.

By regarding heritage as both cultural and natural, the Convention reminds us of the ways in which people interact with nature, and of the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two.

Benefits of Ratification

The overarching benefit of ratifying the World Heritage Conventionis that of belonging to an international community of appreciation and concern for universally significant properties that embody a world of outstanding examples of cultural diversity and natural wealth.

The States Parties to the Convention, by joining hands to protect and cherish the world's natural and cultural heritage, express a shared commitment to preserving our legacy for future generations.

The prestige that comes from being a State Party to the Convention and having sites inscribed on the World Heritage Listoften serves as a catalyst to raising awareness for heritage preservation.

A key benefit of ratification, particularly for developing countries, is access to the World Heritage Fund. Annually, about US$4 million is made available to assist States Parties in identifying, preserving and promoting World Heritage sites. Emergency assistance may also be made available for urgent action to repair damage caused by human-made or natural disasters. In the case of sites included on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the attention and the funds of both the national and the international community are focused on the conservation needs of these particularly threatened sites.

Today, the World Heritage concept is so well understood that sites on the List are a magnet for international cooperation and may thus receive financial assistance for heritage conservation projects from a variety of sources.

Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List also benefit from the elaboration and implementation of a comprehensive management plan that sets out adequate preservation measures and monitoring mechanisms. In support of these, experts offer technical training to the local site management team.

Finally, the inscription of a site on the World Heritage List brings an increase in public awareness of the site and of its outstanding values, thus also increasing the tourist activities at the site. When these are well planned for and organized respecting sustainable tourism principles, they can bring important funds to the site and to the local economy.

Decisions (2)

Decision: 31COM 13ATitle: Evaluation of the results of the implementation of the Committee’s strategic objectives Year: 2007

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/13A,

2. Recalls the Budapest Declaration, adopted during its 25th session (Budapest, 2002), and more particularly its Article 5;

3. Takes note of information provided by States Parties in their responses to the questionnaire submitted by the World Heritage Centre; Decisions report (Christchurch, 2007) WHC-07/31.COM/24, p. 193

4. Congratulates States Parties to the Convention for their commitment in the implementation of the four strategic objectives and warmly encourages them to pursue their efforts;

5. Decides to maintain credibility, conservation, capacity building and communication as strategic objectives in the implementation of the Convention whilst restating the different components and, recognizing the critical importance of involving indigenous, traditional and local communities in the implementation of the Convention, further decides to add “communities” as a fifth strategic objective;

6. Requests the World Heritage Centre to use the evaluation of the Periodic Report in the assessment of the strategic objectives for the implementation of the Convention;

7. Decides to consider, at its 32nd session in 2008, the establishment of a working group to study the implementation of the strategic objectives.

2. Welcomes the proposal by New Zealand to enhance the role of communities in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention;

3. Adds a “fifth C” for “Communities” to the existing Strategic Objectives which were adopted as the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage by the World Heritage Committee at its 26th session (Budapest, 2002) which should read as follows: “To enhance the role of communities in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.”

4. Encourages all interested parties to promote and implement this fifth Strategic Objective.

5. Thanks New Zealand for this important contribution to the implementation of the Convention.